This invention pertains to a repair patch to make a permanent repair of a hole, puncture, or concavity, in a sheetrock wall or ceiling.
In the late 1940's the use of gypsum board panels, typically referred to as "sheetrock" or "drywall", became the preferred building material for interior walls and partitions in most types of buildings in the United States, primarily because of the relatively low cost of material and installation. These panels are essentially made of a hardened plaster-like gypsum material which is sandwiched between sheets of paper or cardboard material. Sheetrock panels, which can by cut to size using only a utility knife, are typically nailed or screwed to spaced wooden studs or joists to provide a flat wall or ceiling surface which spans these wooden supporting members, leaving the space between the studs or joists hollow behind the wall surface. The surface of a sheetrock wall is typically finished by filling irregularities and indentations, such as those in the areas where nails or screws have been driven through the face of the panel. The slight gaps between panels are similarly filled and taped over using paper tape which is sufficiently wide to bridge the gap between panels and which is held in place by the filler material. The filler is "drywall compound," a mud-like material which is smoothed into place and allowed to dry and harden. However, even the dried filler material has relatively little structural integrity and provides primarily the cosmetic benefit of a smooth wall or ceiling surface. The filler material by itself also has a tendency to shrink somewhat while drying and is therefore susceptible to cracking, particularly where it is used in large quantities or in thick layers.
Sheetrock panels installed in this manner serve well for interior use as walls and ceilings. A typical interior wall will have two external wall surfaces, each wall surface being the external surface of one of two parallel sheetrock panels which are spaced apart and secured to opposite sides of the wooden studs.
The primary drawback to using sheetrock material is that it is easily damaged by a sudden blow applied to a small area, such as that which may be caused by the protruding door knob of a swinging door. The material is also susceptible to being puncturing by sharp objects. Also, removal or relocation of an electrical outlet or switch box during remodeling may leave a hole that must be filled or covered.
A simple, easy to use and inexpensive method for repairing holes in sheetrock walls to restore the damaged or missing part of the wallboard, has eluded inventors, drywall professionals, handymen-homeowners, and building maintenance personnel, for as long as such materials have been in common use. Such repair can be relatively difficult, especially in the most common situation where the hole is located over the void between two wall studs and extends completely through the drywall into this void. In such a situation, and particularly if the hole is greater than about one (1) inch in diameter, the use of any semi-liquid or paste-like hardening filler material such as drywall compound, plaster or spackling compound is generally not practical, since the void behind the hole provides no support for the filler, thus allowing the filler to fall through into the hollow space behind the hole. Previously, similar difficulties have arisen in connection with using a solid patching material such as a piece of wood or drywall since there has been no convenient way of both positioning the patch flush with the outer face of the wall surface and supporting it in place.